Roma, Aug. 25 (LaPresse) – The primaries for the centre-left candidate for prime minister “are a political mistake and should be avoided. We are sliding into them without having fully considered their meaning and political and electoral consequences.” Roberto Speranza said this in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “My biggest concern,” Speranza explained, “is not so much related to the primary campaign, which is expected to be highly divisive. The two main candidates are the leaders of the two largest parties, authoritative figures capable of mobilizing their respective electorates to the maximum, but we have to ask ourselves what will happen among voters of the party whose leader does not win the primaries. There is an objective risk of reducing the level of mobilization ahead of the elections.” In particular, according to the former Health Minister, the Five Star Movement “has a less traditional electorate that could arrive at the general election disoriented by a leadership coming from another party. But there are also sensitivities within the PD that could feel uncomfortable with a leader who is not their own. We would risk having very tough and divisive primaries, with the result of reducing our ability to mobilize the electorate ahead of the election that really matters. I see the risk of a sensational own goal.”
Centre-left, Speranza: “Avoid primaries, they would be a sensational own goal”
Roma, Aug. 25 (LaPresse) – The primaries for the centre-left candidate for prime minister “are a political mistake and should be avoided. We are sliding into them without having fully considered their meaning and political and electoral consequences.” Roberto Speranza said this in an interview with Corriere della Sera. “My biggest concern,” Speranza explained, “is not so much related to the primary campaign, which is expected to be highly divisive. The two main candidates are the leaders of the two largest parties, authoritative figures capable of mobilizing their respective electorates to the maximum, but we have to ask ourselves what will happen among voters of the party whose leader does not win the primaries. There is an objective risk of reducing the level of mobilization ahead of the elections.” In particular, according to the former Health Minister, the Five Star Movement “has a less traditional electorate that could arrive at the general election disoriented by a leadership coming from another party. But there are also sensitivities within the PD that could feel uncomfortable with a leader who is not their own. We would risk having very tough and divisive primaries, with the result of reducing our ability to mobilize the electorate ahead of the election that really matters. I see the risk of a sensational own goal.”